Sparkles and Sunshine
by MrsJacobBlack1988
Summary: I looked up at my one living ray of hope, and took a deep, steadying breath. He gave me strength. As long as Edward was here, beside me, I feared nothing.' If Edward never left, it wouldn't mean the end to her troubles. Edward/Bella.
1. Chapter 1: Nothing

_A/N: Hello there! Okay, for anyone who has been reading 'My Unattainable,' I apologise, but I have put it on hold for now, due to lack of inspiration. I will continue it at some point, probably after I finish this story, which I am really enthusiastic about! A little bit of background info: this story starts a few days before Bella's birthday in New Moon, and doesn't involve Edward disappearing. So please sit back, relax and enjoy the story. _

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or the characters therein.

Sparkles and Sunshine

Chapter One: Nothing

Bella's POV

_I ran through the empty void, with nothing behind me, nothing to the sides, nothing but the encroaching darkness. I gasped for breath, my lungs filling – overflowing - with the nothingness, as I ran towards the one ray of light and hope that I could see, far off in the distance. I didn't know what it was, but I knew I had to get there. Whatever it was, wherever it was, I knew it was the light of my salvation..._

"Bella. Bella?"

The nothingness vanished into reality, and my senses were suddenly assaulted with far too much colour and noise after the emptiness of the void in my mind. I blinked, focusing on the heavenly voice, tinted with concern.

"Are you alright?"

Two beautiful topaz eyes gazed down to meet mine. I lifted my head, realising that I had been leaning over the desk, apparently staring intently at the grain of the wood. I met those lovely eyes once more, this time with what I hoped was a reassuring smile.

"I'm fine."

A puzzled expression passed over his face. "The bell went. You didn't hear it?"

I shook my head drowsily, passing a hand over my face in an attempt to focus. I stood up carefully, and Edward handed me my bag. I seemed I couldn't shake these dreams. Weeks, I'd been suffering them now. Months. They used to only haunt my slumber, but now, they were encroaching on my conscious mind too. I shuddered. The nothingness, the emptiness, enlightened by the one ray of hope at the end, the one I never seemed to reach...

I looked up at my one living ray of hope, and took a deep, steadying breath. He gave me strength. As long as Edward was here, beside me, I feared nothing.

We walked slowly and silently out to the car park, stopping by my truck. Edward lingered as I threw my school bag on the passenger seat and sat down in front of the wheel. He looked uncomfortable, almost awkward. I frowned. It was so unlike him.

"What's wrong?" I asked, following his gaze to where Alice was standing by the familiar silver volvo. They seemed to be sharing something, some thought I couldn't be a part of. I hated it when they did that.

"Edward?"

Edward turned back to me, his face momentarily covered with anxiety and confusion. It soon returned to its smooth, pale perfection, and his eyes warmed as they met mine.

"Nothing's wrong, love." He traced a finger over the darkened skin under my eyes. My eyes flickered shut involuntarily at the contact. "You look tired, Bella."

"I'm fine," I insisted.

"You haven't been sleeping."

I sighed. I couldn't deny that. He had seen me tossing and turning, night after night, and it wasn't by any means the first time he had expressed his concern over my nocturnal disturbances.

His hand moved up to my hair, stroking through the strands gently. "Go home, get some rest. Would you like me to drive you?"

"No... I'll be okay."

Edward stiffened a little, and a moment later Alice was peering round his shoulder at me, a similar expression of concern plastered on her lovely face. I could see that what troubled them was much more than my lack of sleep.

"What's going on? What aren't you telling me?" I felt moisture build in my eyes, a mixture of sleep deprivation and annoyance.

"It's nothing, Bella," Alice insisted. "Go home and sleep. I need you at your best for your birthday!"

I groaned. Alice was planning my party. The last thing I wanted was to be reminded that I would be a year older, forever at least one milestone different to my perfect angel, frozen in time.

I knew I wouldn't get any more out of them at that moment. They both looked down at me, both frozen in place, trying to feign contentment, or at least indifference. I sighed, and drove away a little too fast, my truck complaining until I slowed down. I would confront them later. After I had had some sleep.

I got home to find two cars already parked outside our house. One I recognised immediately as Charlie's, but the other I was too tired to try to identify. My truck rumbled to a stop, and I slammed the door as I got out. I did _not _want visitors. I wanted my warm cosy bed, preferably wrapped in the arms of my significantly colder, bronze haired vampire, but for the moment, the bed alone would have to suffice. After I had been as polite as I had to be to whoever had decided to show up.

I wasn't kept in suspense too long, as the unmistakable booming laugh of Billy Black shook through the house before I even opened the front door. Sure enough, Billy and Jacob were sat in front of the TV with Charlie, a pizza box on the table, almost empty. I couldn't help but smile at the scene. I was glad my dad was spending time with Billy; I hated the thought of him alone here after work when I wasn't around. Which was quite often, nowadays, thanks to Edward's powerful methods of distraction.

"Bella!" Billy greeted cheerfully when he saw me approach. Charlie and Jacob both looked up, and I received a beaming smile from Jacob and a guilty expression from my dad.

"Bella, we... uh... saved you some pizza." Charlie gestured to the remaining couple of slices in the box.

"That's okay, I... I think I'm just gonna go upstairs."

"You okay?" He turned round to face me better.

I was getting irritated at the number of times I had been asked that question. I smiled as best I could. "I am fine. I just need a nap, I guess."

I started up the stairs, to be stopped again, this time by Billy's voice.

"Hey Bella, your dad's just roped you in for dinner up at our place tomorrow; you guys haven't been up in a while."

"Great, Billy," I said in a dry voice, as I dragged myself to my bed and flopped down on my stomach, fully dressed, shoes still on my feet. I fell into a troubled sleep.

_Running through the darkening emptiness once more, towards a ray of light far off in the distance. This time, the light started to take form, making itself almost tangible, almost touchable, until the darkness spread through my body and filtered through my lungs-_

I woke in a flurry of matted hair and sweat. I found myself pulled into a solid, cold but comforting embrace, wrapped in a blanket with only my socks on my feet. Edward hushed me soothingly. I leaned into his chest, breathing in deep gulps of his scent, trying to calm myself. I eventually managed to regulate my breathing, and huddled closer to Edward's comforting presence.

"I wish you'd tell me what you dream about," he whispered in his velvet tone.

"I don't even know myself," I replied honestly.

Edward sighed in obvious frustration. I knew it hurt him to see me like this, and I wish I could stop the dreams, for his sake. I snaked my arms up to his neck to pull him closer, kissing his collar bone through his shirt.

"I'm sorry," I murmured into his skin.

He pulled me down a little, so we lay on the bed, more comfortably.

"I saw the Blacks' car outside earlier," Edward mentioned, his finger trailing circles over the crescent scar on my hand. "What did Billy want?"

The question took me by surprise. Edward knew that Billy and Charlie were old friends.

"They came down to watch a game, I think."

"They?"

I nodded. "Jacob came, too."

Edward was silent once again, but I could almost hear his mind whirring, ticking over. I wished he'd tell me what was on his mind.

"Um... Billy invited Charlie and me for dinner tomorrow, should be... good?" I finished the statement as a question in response to Edward's piercing stare. "What?"

He sat up, and shifted away from me ever so slightly, still holding onto my hand, his thumb skimming my scar. I sat up too, pulling the blanket with me. Edward looked up from inspecting my bed covers, to look into my eyes. I couldn't look away.

"I don't want you to go to La Push, Bella," he said insistently. "I'll take you to Port Angeles for dinner." A small smile pulled at his lips. "I'll reserve our booth at the restaurant, away from prying eyes..." I smiled. "Mushroom ravioli," he continued. I couldn't help but giggle.

"I can't, Edward. I already said I'd go."

He frowned.

"It's just one meal," I reminded him. "I don't understand, what's-"

"It's nothing," he told me. "Go to Billy's. Have fun." He leaned over slightly to press his lips to mine briefly. "Just... be careful."

----------

_A/N: Hope you enjoyed the first chapter, I tried to make it sort of tense and frustrating, I hope that showed through. Please give me your feedback, I love reviews!!!_

_Thanks for reading._


	2. Chapter 2: Drowning

_A/N: Hello! First of all, I'd like to say a huge thank you to everyone who read, reviewed, or added this story to favourites/ author alert. I'm so glad you all like it so far! Please enjoy chapter two._

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or the characters therein.

Chapter Two: Drowning

Bella's POV

The next day, after school, Charlie and I arrived in front of the Blacks' little red house. Charlie had insisted on bringing beer, so I had insisted on driving us in my truck. He didn't take much convincing to be a passenger, though – he knew better than anyone in Forks about drink-driving.

Jacob answered the door, his signature smile plastered on his face. I couldn't help but grin back. I silently puzzled over Edward's reluctance to letting me come here. There was no danger that I could see. And, as a bona fide danger magnet, any trouble should have come my way as soon as we entered La Push. We made our way through to the kitchen, where Billy's idea of a banquet was set out on the table: every sort of take-out and fast food it was possible to obtain. I laughed to myself. I really had no idea what I'd been expecting, but this seemed to completely encapsulate Billy and Jacob's laid-back attitude.

Dinner passed pleasantly. We chatted about mundane things: school, weather, local news. After all the food was finished in a remarkably short space of time, Billy and Charlie settled themselves down in front of the TV with the beer, suddenly very excited about whatever sport they were about to watch. I sighed in exasperation and Jacob laughed.

"You don't have to go in there and endure the TV," he said kindly. He left the house, heading round the side, and I followed him, eager to get away from the sport. I found myself in front of what seemed to be a home-made garage, littered with tools and unidentifiable pieces of machinery. In the middle stood a beautiful black car, almost complete, but obviously missing a few essential parts.

_This must be Jacob's latest project_, I thought, remembering Jacob's mechanical skills.

I watched him fish around for a few pieces, sort of tidying up. I appreciated the gesture, mainly because it meant there were less things for me to trip over.

"This is your car?" I asked. Jacob grinned, and set off into an extended description of what was clearly his 'baby.' I listened and smiled politely, not understanding in the slightest.

"...and, you know, I got my master cylinder after... well... your prom." He came to a stop, an uncomfortable silence filling the air. Jacob looked outside, and, seeing the brief break in the rain, asked if I wanted to go for a walk.

We made our way along the cliff top, the ocean below remarkably calm. A low wind rippled through our hair. I watched Jacob's hair blowing in the breeze, and realised I had to strain my neck to see his face.

"You've grown!" Inside the house, it wasn't so obvious, but out here in the open, it was hard to miss the difference between us. He'd bulked out a little, too; his shoulders were wider and his arms looked stronger.

Jacob nodded, grinning once again, then looked down at me. "And you've... well, you don't look well."

"Thanks," I scoffed. "I just haven't been sleeping. Bad dreams..." I trailed off. He didn't have to know about the strange images that continually plagued my nights.

We walked along quietly for a few minutes, listening to the foam pulling gently on the sand below.

"You know, my dad was surprised you came tonight," he mentioned suddenly. I looked up at him questioningly, and he elaborated. "He thought... well he _said_ he thought Edward... wouldn't let you."

I stopped in my tracks, hands on my hips in defiance. "Jacob Black, I am my own woman, I can do what I want." He laughed at my behaviour, and I couldn't help but laugh too, dropping my hands to my sides. "Why does Billy hate Edward so much?"

Jacob sighed. "You know the Quileute legends, Bella, I told you them on the beach before. And my dad is stuck in his ways. He still believes them."

I remembered Jacob's dramatic tales of a tribe of wolf-men and their enemies the blood-suckers. I shuddered, wondering if Billy really, _actually_ knew. I tried to answer light-heartedly.

"Those stories? _ Please._ Edward is as much a vampire as you are a wolf, Jacob."

Jacob laughed once more, and I let out a breath I hadn't realised I was holding. We continued along the cliff.

"So, Charlie said it's your birthday in a few days."

I groaned exaggeratedly. "Don't remind me."

Jacob frowned. "Isn't that supposed to be a good thing? Cake, presents, a year older-"

"Exactly: a year older. Not something I find appealing."

Jacob smiled. "Can I at least get you a present?"

"No!" I answered quickly. "No presents!"

He held up his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay, no birthday presents, got it."

I nodded. I didn't want anything to remind me of the coming milestone and what it represented.

----

That night I had to physically drag Charlie away from the box. He was almost asleep by the time we got home, and I had to shove him out of the truck. I shook my head. He'd only had three beers. Apparently he couldn't hold his alcohol. I went to the kitchen to make myself a hot drink before I went up to bed. Charlie disappeared up the staircase, muttering something about bears getting into the house. I just told him to go to bed, and hoped he would be able to sleep it off.

I went upstairs to get changed, brushed my teeth and headed for bed. I was hardly surprised to hear light snoring coming from my dad's room. I climbed into bed, and a few moments later, I was wrapped in a cold, welcoming embrace. A shock of bronze hair shone in the moonlight through my open window.

"Hey," I greeted quietly.

"Hello, love." Edward leaned down and kissed my forehead softly. "How was your evening?"

There was an edge to his voice. It upset me.

"It was good. Jacob showed me the car he's building, and apparently Charlie and alcohol don't mix." I smiled a little. Edward tried to smile back, but couldn't seem to manage it.

"So... everything was alright?"

"Yes." I sighed, searching his perfect face for answers. "Edward, what's wrong? Don't tell me it's nothing; I know you better than that."

His face hardened into a frown, his eyes far away, pondering some unexplained mystery. "I don't know what it is myself, Bella."

Something didn't sound right in his voice. "Why won't you tell me?" I whined. "I tell you everything."

He looked at me with sparkling, mischievous eyes. "You don't tell me what you dream about lately."

I felt a blush rise up my face. He'd caught me. "Okay, I tell you everything that _matters_."

Edward pulled me closer and sighed, his breath washing over my face in a heavenly wave. "It matters to me. I wish you would tell me."

I paused, wondering whether I should share my strange dreams.

"You haven't been calling out in your sleep."

I looked up at him, and saw the genuine confusion in his eyes. "You don't say anything in your sleep anymore. Except my name sometimes." He smiled involuntarily. "But not as often as you used to."

I ran my hand over his marble forearm. "I'm running towards... something." I closed my eyes in an attempt to remember the scene of my dreams. They always faded so fast as soon as I woke. "I have no idea what it is, but it's the only thing in the whole place. There's... nothing. Nothing else at all. And it's like I'm... drowning... in the nothingness." I shuddered at the memory.

Edward planted a row of soft kisses into my hair, and moved a little so I could lay down. My favourite way to fall asleep. In my vampire's arms.

"Go to sleep, love," he whispered in my ear. My eyes automatically flickered shut. "Bella, I will _never_ let you drown."

----

_A/N: Thank you for reading. Please review and let me know what you think, it only takes a moment of your time! Look out for chapter three!_


	3. Chapter 3: Unbirthday

_A/N: Salutations, beloved readers! Thank you so much for all the reviews, they make me so happy! Please enjoy chapter three._

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter Three: Unbirthday

Bella's POV

One more day.

One more day of being seventeen.

I cringed at the thought again and again, as Alice raided through my wardrobe. I sat glumly on the edge of my bed, clothes being flung at strange angles all over the room from the little pixie-girl half hidden in the closet. I heard her heave a small sigh.

"Bella, you have nothing to wear in here._ At all_. It's as if you live in jeans and t-shirts..." she trailed off when she glanced over her shoulder at my current apparel. Jeans and t-shirt. "This will never do. I have to take you shopping. You can't wear jeans tomorrow night."

I grimaced at the thought of the party Alice was planning. It was sounding like a bigger, more elaborate event every time she mentioned it.

"I told you I don't want to make a big deal of it," I complained.

"Well I _do_," she insisted. "You only turn eighteen once."

"I'd rather stay seventeen..." I murmured.

Alice looked at me with a soft expression that was almost pitying.

"I know, Bella." She stopped her frantic clothing quest and came to sit next to me on the bed. "Edward hasn't changed his mind."

It wasn't a question: she would obviously be the first one to know (apart from Edward himself, obviously) if and when he would change his mind. I shook my head, and Alice gently put her arm around my shoulders.

"He _will_ change his mind," she assured me. "I've seen it."

I knew Alice's visions were subjective: they could change. I didn't want to mention that it might just be my determination to become immortal that made her see that particular vision of my future.

Alice wanted me to join her family: she had already told me that, more than once. One reason she had her heart set on this party was because she was sure it would be my very last.

She stood up, as graceful as a dancer, with resolve spread across her delicate face.

"Well, I'll just have to take you shopping! I think I saw the perfect dress for you, but we'll have to shop around for shoes, I think-"

The shrill sound of the phone rang through the house, cutting her off mid-sentence. I jumped at the opportunity to escape the shopping plans. I fled down the stairs, barely saving myself from tripping, and grabbed the phone.

"Hello?" I greeted breathlessly.

"Hey, Bella."

"Jacob! How are you?"

"I'm fine," he said, a laugh in his voice. "Are you busy?"

"No," I lied immediately, grateful for the excuse to miss the otherwise inevitable shopping trip.

"Do you wanna come down here? I need to talk to you," he said lightly.

I wondered what could be so urgent: he seemed fairly jovial.

"Umm... okay. I'll come round right away."

I hung up after we said our goodbyes. I turned, to find Alice lingering, statue-esque, on the bottom stair, her eyes downcast. She must have seen my decision to go to La Push as soon as I had made it. I immediately felt guilty.

"Why don't you come with me, Alice?" I tried to make amends.

"La Push?" She immediately shook her head, so fast her hair blurred. "I don't think so." She hesitated. "Do you have to go?"

Something in her expression reminded me of Edward's reluctance over my last visit to the Blacks' place.

"I think so, Jacob said he really needs to talk to me."

Alice nodded, still glum. An idea seemed to strike her, and she brightened immediately.

"Well, have fun, Bella. Hurry back though, and we'll go shopping when you come back."

My heart sank.

"W-why don't you go while I'm gone?" I suggested. "You're much better at finding clothes than I am, anyway. You know I'll only slow you down."

Alice still looked unconvinced.

"Will you try them on when I get back?" she asked hopefully.

I cringed, but nodded. She grinned, and rushed forward to hug me.

"I'll come back as soon as I find you the perfect outfit, Bella!" she squealed. Then her face was momentarily serious.

"Don't spend... too much time up there; come back and wait here for me, I won't be long."

She left in a flurry, leaving me shocked and unable to move for a moment.

Something about La Push was really getting under the Cullens' collective skin lately. I wondered when they would decide to tell me what it was...

I headed off down the long road to La Push, trying to focus on Jacob's strange behaviour rather than that of my vampire boyfriend and his 'sister.' It didn't take me long to get there, and I went straight to Jacob's house. He was waiting for me in the doorway, a huge smile on his face. His grin was completely infectious, and I found myself unable to remember why I had been worried in the first place.

"Hey," he greeted.

"Hi. So why did you have to talk to me so urgently?"

He wiggled his eyebrows at me in an attempt to be mysterious, and led me into the house. I greeted Billy with a smile, and followed Jacob into the living room. He leaned over the shabby coffee table and brought out a small box, wrapped messily in crazy wrapping paper. He passed it to me, and I eyed it suspiciously.

"That had better not be a birthday present."

Jacob's grin widened. I groaned.

"You promised you wouldn't get one!"

"I didn't. It's not your birthday. It's an _un_birthday present. Happy Unbirthday!" He pushed the parcel into my hands.

I glared at him, before carefully unwrapping the present, corner by corner. Jacob bounced on the balls of his feet in impatience. I finally revealed the gift inside. Something delicate: wood, string, feathers...

"It's a dream catcher." He lowered his voice, so that Billy couldn't overhear. "I know it's cheesy as hell, but I wanted to do something about your nightmares, so... I made it myself."

I turned it over and over in my hands. It was so thoughtful. And completely unexpected.

"T-thank you so much!" I whispered. It was detailed, flawlessly patterned. "I love it. And you _made _this? You're so talented."

Jacob just ducked his head humbly.

A while later, after numerous thank yous and a few laughs, Jacob walked me out to my truck. He was chattering away about his Rabbit, the car he was building, when suddenly he stopped. I looked up at him, to see him staring across the road. I followed his line of vision, and saw four young Quileute men stood staring back at us with serious expressions.

Jacob began to shake slightly beside me, and his face twisted into a frown. The four guys vanished into the forest, and Jacob seemed to calm. He sighed, visibly weighed down by the troubling atmosphere that had decended.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

He looked down at me with troubled eyes.

"That was Sam Uley, and his... friends. And Embry," he added reluctantly.

"Embry? Your friend, I met him on the beach?"

Jacob nodded. "He just... stopped talking to me. And he follows Sam round like a puppy." There was something he wasn't telling me, but I knew I would get nothing else from him. I was annoyed. Everyone was keeping things from me lately.

I got in the truck, and leaned out of the window.

"Don't worry too much, Jake. You've been his friend longer than any of those guys. It might just be a phase." I doubted my own words. Those four boys had looked uniform, almost like a brotherhood. A cult.

"And thank you again for the dream catcher. I love it."

Jacob smiled at me, his face still troubled. "You're welcome."

He reached over to place his hand over mine, just for a moment. Long enough for me to notice that his skin was burning.

----

When I got back to my house, it was raining. Of course. I peered out through the heavy rain, and noticed a familiar silver volvo parked in Charlie's spot on the drive. I pulled up, parked, and headed inside, knowing Edward would be there waiting for me. Alice mustn't be back yet.

I found him in the kitchen. He smiled his beautiful, radiant smile when he saw me, his face an almost perfect mask over some sort of hidden concern.

"Did you have a good time at La Push?"

I noticed his hands were fisted tight.

"Is something wrong?" I asked nervously.

He shook his head, his beautiful bronze hair slightly messed by the rain.

"Nothing is wrong, love. But Alice is at home, and she wants you to go and try on some outfits."

"Outfits? Plural?"

He nodded, standing in one graceful move. I groaned. Alice's shopping habits seemed to be getting worse.

"Okay, lets go," I said, trying to feign enthusiasm, hiding my present behind my back.

----

_A/N: Hope you enjoyed chapter three. I know its all a little confusing at the moment. We all know why Edward would have his suspicions of La Push and the Quileutes. But is there more going on? Hmm..._

_All credit for the idea of the Dream Catcher goes to my good friend Gaby, who is a constant source of amusement and inspiration for these stories._

_Please review!_

_Thanks for reading, look out for chapter 4._


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